When and/or was your 1st Time on STJ

sloopjones · Post by **sloopjones** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:39 am

June 1972, Cinnamon Bay tent. Never returned till we moved here in 1989 wiht 300 t-shirts and a box of paint.

sloop

SOonthebeach · Post by **SOonthebeach** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:36 am

sloopjones wrote:June 1972, Cinnamon Bay tent. Never returned till we moved here in 1989 wiht 300 t-shirts and a box of paint.

sloop

That made me laugh out loud! And you have done quite well with the t-shirts and box of paint

One of my daughters wore one of her collection of Sloop dresses yesterday!

Bigcheeze · Post by **Bigcheeze** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:48 pm

Sloop...using a Mouse Pad we bought this year when we visited for the 1st time...

My wife loves her cover-up too!

conchman · Post by **conchman** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:36 pm

7-6-11
I'll just add my thoughts. Worked with a girl who had gone to STJ with her boyfriend. Suzy was all prim and polish with not a hair out of place...She LOVED St John. If Suzy liked it, it must be awesome. We started by internet search and became even more interested. There is certainly something for everyone on St John. As the North Shore Road winds up and over, past Estate Lindholm and Asolare you arrive at the Trunk Bay overlook. I still get goosebumps at the sight! We have tried other Caribbean spots. . .
Abacos, Virgin Gorda, Grand Cayman. Still prefer STJ!

We were there the year Hurricane Lenny hit (1999)
We were supposed to be married on the island...but we had kinda did not tell anyone. So the reverend says we might get a little rain, did not tell us Lenny was on the way. Needless to say after 3 days we left with regret. Got married in the criminal courts room at our local courthouse...went back the next year and had ten blissful days...and many more. Coming back in 2012 for 3 weeks...can't wait...

indianaizzy · Post by **indianaizzy** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:15 pm

Our first trip was back around 1998 or so. We went with a group who traveled to Maho together. We had a great time but it was 83 steps to the bathroom and trust me, in the middle of a dark St. John night, that is quite a distance. I always say I'm glad we did it but I will never do it again. Give me a villa any day.

jmhouse · Post by **jmhouse** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:23 am

I'm actually not sure how I first heard about St. John. I was looking for a place to spend a few days to decompress after a grueling last semester at college in 2007. Stumbled on Concordia on the internet sometime between classes. Called and booked a stay within a week or two between some other classes. I wasn't working very much but I had enough for a 5 day deposit. I was sort of banking on some graduation money to help pay for the rest. Anyways, got everything booked to fly out the day after my graduation ceremony near the end of May. Spent 5 days in P9 (i think) and my addiction started. Waking up to that view each morning was just what I needed. Also exploring the island and not worrying about anything except where to snorkel next.

2009 I spent a week on St. Croix and felt just as relaxed, but it wasn't quite the same.

Got back to St. John in 2010 for 10 more days at Concordia. It was hot but I didn't care. Now I'm planning to go back next year with my mom, brother, his gf, and my aunt. They've been to St. Croix but not St. John. Can't wait to share it with them.

a pic from my first trip:

nothintolose · Post by **nothintolose** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:56 am

LOVE that photo JMHouse!!!

Mine was July of 2002 for SO's daughter's wedding. Tried to talk her into getting married in the states cuz I hate to fly and had never heard of St. John before. Thank God she didn't listen!

Have been back most every summer since then and would be happy if I never went anywhere else but STJ.

Love reading about everyone's "firsts"!

SOonthebeach · Post by **SOonthebeach** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:18 am

Gorgeous shot Matt! Your shots are always fantastic....

KidLiggy · Post by **KidLiggy** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:23 am

I'll add my 2 cents. Went to St Martin once, fell in love with Anguilla on a day trip so went there 3 yrs in a row, looked for a change of pace and found STJ in caribbean travel and life so gave it a try in 2007, LOVED it. Back to Anguilla in 2008 but we both missed the lushness of STJ. Took another off year to Grenada 2009, loved that also but STJ was always on the tip of our tounge. Took the kids in 2010 and it just sunk in that this is "our" place to be. We are coming back March 2012.

greyhoundmom · Post by **greyhoundmom** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:15 pm

Sloop, I still haven't made it to see you. We drove up in 2008 but you were closed. My S/O and 2 grads visited with you the week of 6/20. They loved being there.

JMHouse, your Concordia photo is beautiful!

greyhoundmom · Post by **greyhoundmom** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:17 pm

Side tracked...our first time was Maho Bay Camps in June 2006. S/O found it on the internet. A great introduction to STJ.

lpowmacback · Post by **lpowmacback** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:06 pm

We were on our 2nd Caribbean cruise with with many visits to many islands under our belt... Since I'd done my homework, I knew that we needed to ditch St. Thomas & go directly to STJ (no offense to any STT lovers out there). While in an open air taxi en route to Cinnamon Bay - my husband & I looked at each other - and we both knew- out of all those other islands, there was simply no comparison - THIS WAS OUR PARADISE <3

jmhouse · Post by **jmhouse** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:02 pm

thanks for the photo compliments! I'd like to try and re-take that shot during a future trip with clearer skies.

enjoyed reading everyone's stories so far!

BillVT · Post by **BillVT** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 7:59 pm

While we struggled with our careers, brought up 2 children and renovated an old school house in VT our best friends, a bit older than us, where able to explore the Caribbean as their business thrived and they were able to get away from it finally. But as best friends they always had time for us and our children, theirs having grown and moved on. When they discovered St John they stayed at Maho Bay with their “older friends” and fell in love with the island. When they came back they began staying at Serindip. Then as they got off the ferry one day from and excursion on St Thomas they were accosted by a time share salesman who offered them a bottle of rum if they came up to look at the Sunset Ridge timeshares. I’m thinking this is around 1995 & ’96 the years of Marylin and Hugo.

When they were finally able to stay at their timeshare it was 1997 and they brought us. It was close to our 20 year wedding anniversary so they gave us their master suite. Like I said, they were our best friends. Of course we fell in love with the island. In the course of the years we’ve stayed frequently at SRV, the Coral Bay area, the South Shore and Cruz bay. Our daughter was married in the twilight on Trunk Bay in 2003. Now there is another generation hooked and bringing their friends.

We are owners at SRV now and return with only one of our friends. We had been able to get our friend Richard, who had contracted Parkinson’s, down for his last two years but around Christmas two years ago, tired of the struggle, he passed away. Half of ashes are scattered in the White Mts of NH and the half in St John the two places he loved the most. We drink to him often, whether on STJ or not.

SOonthebeach · Post by **SOonthebeach** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:19 pm

jmhouse wrote:thanks for the photo compliments! I'd like to try and re-take that shot during a future trip with clearer skies.

enjoyed reading everyone's stories so far!

I actually LOVE the skies in that shot- makes it seem kind of moody- very cool and different for STJ!

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